Archive on 4: Art School, Smart School (R4) | iPlayer
The Documentary: Who’s Left Holding the Baby? (BBC World Service) | iPlayer
Archive on 4 yesterday took a long look at art schools, those romantic postwar educational institutions where students of all ages, from all sorts of backgrounds, would gather in order to stretch their minds. “We walked into a room and there was a block of polystyrene in the middle, with instructions written on the walls,” remembered one student at Saint Martins college in the 1960s. “That took about two weeks.” Another described how the 36 students in his year were told to find a partner and come up with a test that would reveal someone’s character. Then each of them had to complete every one of the 18 tests; and after that they had to spend the rest of the term existing as someone completely the opposite from their assessed character. As you can imagine, there wasn’t really a branding or marketing element to art degrees in those days.
Such places seem, today, to have somehow never existed. They’ve become mythical, like unicorns. Saint Martins isn’t even the same as it was in the 80s and 90s: it’s now housed in a swanky warehouse conversion in King’s Cross, a “cultural destination” that attracts 50,000 visitors to its degree shows but has little relationship to the area it exists in. It’s like a crashed spaceship, a self-sufficient world unable to connect with its surrounding environment. “An uncreative place,” said Grayson Perry of such spaces.
Perhaps we should be cross with such programmes: all that wistful sentimentality, that nostalgia for the good old days of student grants and grotty bohemia. But I think, fair enough. Those were the good old days for student artists. Now, as was pointed out at the end of this layered, fascinating hour, certain kids just can’t get to art school any more: either they can’t afford the £9,000 annual loan or they are “academically unstarred”, so they won’t even be interviewed. It’s a proper shame.
Today, everyone has to succeed on society’s terms: if you want to get ahead you have to work at your skills. Even when you’ve only reached single figures. In Who’s Left Holding the Baby?, Australian journalist Madeleine Morris continued to explore differing childcare options across the world. Two weeks ago she went to Fiji, where kids are brought up by their extended family. Last week she was in Shanghai, in a childcare centre for young children. It seemed perfectly normal except that some of the kids stay there overnight, every night, from Monday to Friday, from the age of three.
Morris spoke to one child’s dad whose voice broke as he described how much he misses his little daughter. But he genuinely thought that boarding was the best thing to help his socially outgoing child reach her potential. I’m not sure I agree, especially after hearing a group of littl’uns wailing for their mummies as they went to bed. As ever with World Service documentaries, I wished that this had delved just a little deeper – given us a few more stats, a few more experts – but, still, this was an interesting and timely programme.
And now: more podcasts. Proper podders will already know that Radiotopia, a collection of American storytelling-type podcast shows, has been asking for funds over the past few weeks. Even if you don’t want to donate (you meanie), I’d recommend that you check out the website. I’ve mentioned it before (it hosts 99% Invisible and Love + Radio, both properly great shows) but I’ve investigated it again for you and there are some other shows to enjoy. Strangers, hosted by the deep-voiced Lea Thau, ex-executive director of the Moth, is a programme that I can find both irritating and amazing; Benjamen Walker’s Theory of Everything grated on me until I discovered his Recent, Relevant, Random episode. And and and… there is so much here for you to get your ears into, you cannot fail to find a programme you will love. Plus, now it’s getting colder, you can lose whole evenings pottering and listening. Enjoy.
